Resident Harvest
by Shadow FTMB
Summary: Harvest Moon 64 with a twist of Resident Evil. Not my best work, but several people liked it nonetheless.


hrpFarmer Leon was just waking up from a good night's sleep...sure, battling zombies in Racoon City was exciting, but Leon figured it was time to slow the pace down; so when he came across this little farming community, he jumped at the chance for a peaceful life...br  
Leon felt his ears being licked as he awoke...  
"Ohhhh...Maria, this is so unlike you...but don't stop."  
He opened his eyes slowly...  
"Ewwww. Shadow, get off the bed."br  
"Yipe, yipe, yipe..."br  
Maria walked in the room, lauging.  
"Oh, Leon...he's just being friendly...Now what was I going to say? Oh yes...My dad stopped by...he wants you to come over as soon as possible. He says it's urgent..."br  
"Did he say what for?"br  
"No, not really..something about a 'C' virus or something?..."br  
After hearing this, Leon instinctively ran as fast as he could to the mayors (Maria's dads) house. He then ran back home, decided to change out of his Superman pajamas, and ran back to the mayors house...  
"Mayor, you wanted to see me?"br  
"Oh, yes. Several of the townspeople are becoming ill. We think it has something to do with the new building across the road."br  
"What new building?"br  
"See for yourself..."br  
Leon stepped outside, and saw a 70 story building where the midwifes house used to be.  
"Whoa...that wasn't here yesterday."br  
"Well, that's what concerns us. Apparently they got all the patents and legal stuff out of the way, and decided to set up shop overnight..."br  
Leon was puzzled. Forget Rubik's cubes...THIS was a real puzzle...  
"Hmmmm...now, mayor, Maria said you mentioned the 'C' virus?"br  
"Oh, yes...it's all here in the newsletter..."br  
"Newsletter?!?!?!"br  
He handed Leon a newsletter, apparently from this new company...the headline read "Umbrella. 100% zombie free for 7 days now."p  
The news frightened Leon. Why would Umbrella, a large company involved in mutating lifeforms into grotesque monsters, want to set up a factory in THIS quaint little town? Anyway, Leon had experience with zombies before...he needed ammunition and healing herbs...FAST.  
"Hello? Anyone home?" Leon asked while knocking on Rick's door.br  
"Hey, Leon. Come in." Said Rick. "What can I help you with?"br  
"I need weapons..."br  
"Weapons? What are weapons? Hmmm....Can I interest you in a solar powered flashlight? Or how about some "Instant Water -- Just Add Water..."br  
Leon thought to himself. He began to understand why Umbrella wanted to set up shop here...this was such a quaint little town, that had a zombie invasion started, the townspeople would be helpless to stop it. These people were in trouble...br  
"Look, Rick...for the next few days, don't leave this house. Bolt the door when I leave, and STAY INSIDE."  
Rick had begun saying something about everybodys life having hills and valleys, but Leon was far gone by then. He decided to stop by the potion shop owner to get some curatives, but the dog outside the house said he didn't live there anymore...............br"Wait a minute." Leon said out loud, "dogs don't talk..." Leon looked at the dog closely. Its eyes were red, its skin was moldy, and its teeth were bared. Leon knew the fact that the dog could talk was the LEAST of his concerns now...p The dog attacked. Leon ran, ran as fast as he could. He didn't care where, as long as it was away from this...this...this THING. This wasn't the lovable Jiro Leon knew...this was a zombie-dog, and it wouldn't stop chasing him until one of them were killed...br  
"Gotta hide...gotta hide..."br  
Leon dashed into the bakery, but not until Jiro took a decent chunk out of his leg. The door slammed behind Jiro, and Leon could hear its barking behind it...Time was short. Soon the dog would bite through the door.br  
"Leon. I'm so happy you're here." Elli said, sitting in the corner, her back toward him. "Want something to eat?"br  
Typical Elli, he thought. Not that he could blame her for eating. After all, she DID live in a bakery...He looked in her direction. She was sitting on the floor, facing away from him, chewing loudly.br  
"C'mon, Leon. You need to eat...It'll help give you strength. Just try it."br  
"No thanks. Say, you should get off the floor. You're gonna catch cold."br  
It happened fast. Elli spun around, and he saw what she was eating -- part of the bakery shop owners arm. Elli charged, her skin a greenish hue. Leon couldn't go back outside -- he'd never get past the dog. Of course, he couldn't stay HERE...pLeon bolted, and ran towards the first thing he saw...the chimney. He scurried up, and soon was on the roof. Elli was in hot pursuit, and Jiro, the dog below, has spotted him. Knowing his life would end if he didn't move, Leon took a leap of faith off the roof. The bite wound he previously suffered from Jiro didn't make the landing any less painless, yet Leon ran as fast as he could into the flower shop.br It was empty, but crying could be heard from Popuri's room. He cautiosly stepped into the bedroom...Popuri, with tears running down her face, was sitting at her mothers bedside. The mother looked awful -- she must have been attacked by one of those...THINGS. Her skin was decaying, her body was bloody...and her EYES! Almost inhuman. Popuri noticed Leon, and turned to speak.br "What's going on here? The whole town is crazy. It's like a nightmare or something..."br Leon, with blood dripping from his leg, coaxed Popuri into stepping out of the room; he didn't want her mother to overhear what he was about to say...br"Listen," he whispered, after he closed the door to the bedroom, "I don't know how to tell you this, but there's a strange epidemic going around town..."br Popuri inturrupted..."Does this have anything to do with that strange new building?"br "Yes. It's a company called 'Umbrella'. They experiment with gene altering -- turning regular animals and humans into zombies. I don't know how the virus is spread, yet...But those infected quickly turn into..." He broke off. Tears flowed off her cheeks. She tried to speak.br "Y-y-you mean...m-m-my mom is beco...becoming one of......THEM?"br A noise came from the bedroom...footsteps were heard. Leon knew what was about to happen. "Po, we have to get out of here. It's too dangerous. We'll make our way to my house."br It should be safe to leave, he thought...Elli and Jiro were preoccupied making a meal out of two small cats. Popuri was torn emotionally.br "I can't just leave her..."br The bedroom door swung open. With outstretched hands, Popuri's mom staggered foward...Leon knew she wasn't reaching for a hug...br"C'mon. Let's move...we have no time."br Popuri grabbed Leons hand and was pulled out the door, but not before turning her head, looking at this grotesque figure that now pursued them, and whispering "Goodbye.......mom."pThey made their way safely to Leon's farm. They heard a scream coming from inside the house; Leon swung the door open to see Maria standing there, frying pan in hand, over Karen's limp, grotesque body.br "Welcome home, honey." she said, with a slight smile on her face.br Impressed, Leon said "Didn't know you had it in you. But how did she get in here? I built these doors to withstand heavy beatings." Leon was always careful like that...reinforced doors, bulletproof windows...he's seen his share of break-in's as a policeman. Maria and Popuri dragged Karen's body out the door, came back in, and closed it tight. Maria spoke.br "She ran in here when I was gathering crops to put in the fridge. She hid under the bed, and attacked when I went into the kitchen. Luckily, I was cooking at the time, and had the frying pan in my hand."br Popuri was still crying. Leon tried to calm her down. "It's alright. Don't go outside, but you should be safe in here. I'm keepin' a close eye out on things."br Exausted, Leon went into the bathroom. He ran hot water over his wound. How did the townspeople get infected with the C-Virus? It couldn't be airborne, or else Potpouri, Maria, and himself would have been infected already. It couldn't be transferred through blood...he had been bitten, and nothing happened. He couldn't think straight. Probably from hunger...he hadn't eaten at all today. Then it hit him! He ran out of the bathroom. br"Popuri...what did you eat today?"br Puzzled, she thought for a moment, and said "Scrambled eggs. Why?" br Leon continued..."Maria, what about you?" br "Uhhh...nothing, now that you mention it. Leon, are you okay?" br It started to make sense...Leon asked Popuri "What did your mother eat this morning?" br Upset at the mention of her mother, Popuri barely uttered "fr-fresh cornbread...we made it t..together this mor...this morning..." She buried her face in Maria's shoulder, almost hysterical. Leon had his answer. br"Maria, are you okay here? There's something I need to do." He headed for the door. br "Wait!" Maria called to him. "Where are you going?" br "Don't worry...just stay in here and don't open the door for anybody."br And he was gone...pLeon ran -- faster than he could ever imagine. Now was not the time to be attacked by a zombie -- not when he had solved the mystery of the C-Virus. It was the crops...it HAD to be spread that way...that would explain Popuri's mom, Elli, and Jiro being infected (Leon remembered how the potion shop owner would leave a fresh batch of sliced turnips for the dog every morning), and it explained how Maria, Popuri, and himself weren't infected. Still, he didn't know WHY the Umbrella co. targeted this quaint little town...but that would change soon. Leon worked his way to the Umbrella office building without being spotted by the local zombies. He tried to get in, but the doors were locked...br"Hmm...not a good time to just ring the bell" he said aloud. Leon took out his handgun, the one he swore he would never use again, and took aim at the bolt locking the door. As if it were scared, the door swung open by itself. He went inside, and was now in an empty waiting room...empty, except for the receptionist. br"Ann? What are you DOING here?" brAnn, sitting behind the desk, and dressed in office attire (which looked completly ABSURD for her), motioned him to come closer. She whispered to him...br"I don't know what's going on in the town...my father, my brother...they all turned into monsters. Umbrella offered me a job here in exchange for my safety. Please, I know it sounds horrible, working for the company that killed my family...but...I don't want to become one of...THEM..." br She cried, as Leon did his best to console her. "Listen, Ann, I think I know how to stop the spread of the virus, but I need to speak to the president of Umbrella...can you get me to his office?" br "His office is on the top floor, but nobody's allowed to go up there." br "I have to...for the lives of the citizens...those who are left." brAlmost reluctantly, Ann pushed a button that opened the elevator doors. "Good luck, Leon." br He smiled, until he heard a sound coming from across the room. An armed soldier burst out of a door, pointed his gun at Leon, then swiveled to deliver one fatal shot to Ann's head...br"That's what traitors get." he shouted, as he turned to fire at Leon, but the doors to the elevator were almost closed. Inside the elevator, Leon shed a quick tear...the soldier must have seen Ann open the doors for him through a hidden camera...it was his fault she died. Now was not the time for remorse...the elevator was quickly making its way to the 70th floor. The doors opened, and Leon saw the president of Umbrella.br No guards...br No soldiers...br No zombies...brJust the president...br And Leon charged...p He pinned the president to the ground, filled with rage...br"How could you, Mayor?! How could you kill your own citizens?!" br The Mayor, eyes wide, and full of fear, babbled like a toddler..."I-I couldn't sto-stop them...They MADE me..." br Leon picked the Mayor up, still grabbing his collar. "That's bull****. You KNEW what would happen! You didn't care! You put your own daughters life in jeopardy!"br Behind them, the elevator doors opened, and a figure stepped out..."Oh, I was never IN any trouble..." br Both the Mayor and Leon were shocked. "Maria?!" br She laughed, and stepped foward..."You see, when daddy rejected Umbrella's proposal, SOMEBODY had to step up. I couldn't let an opportunity like this pass me by. Imagine...an entire army of loyal zombies at my disposal, plus...the MONEY! Do you know how much Umbrella pays for..."br Leon cut her off..."But, why? Why would you want to kill your own friends and family?" br Maria, agitated, continued. "How rude, interrupting me like that. You should know better than to interrupt the Vice President of Umbrella...As for my so-called 'friends'...HA! All they did was insult me, call me names and get all the boys at the festivals. Well, looks like I'M going to get all the attention now. Oh, yes, sorry to break this to you this way, Leon, but...we're getting a divorce, so to speak..."br As she said this, armed guards entered the room via the elevator. Leon tried to reason with his wife...br"But, Maria...what about when you killed the zombie Karen? Why would you want to kill your own test subject?" br Maria laughed...Leon couldn't remember the last time he heard her laugh..."Who said she was a zombie? Hey, I figured as long as the girls are going to die anyway, I might as well speed up the process..." br There was no time to keep talking...Leon ran to the window, and jumped out. He just had to hope that Maria wouldn't kill her own father. Hmmm, Leon thought, perhaps jumping out of the 70th floor of a building wasn't such a good idea...p  
One year later...br  
"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Maria. Happy birthday to you."br Maria blew out the candles of her birthday cake. She spoke, her voice full of happiness...br"Elli, do you want some cake? Sure you do. Karen...can I tempt you? It's chocolate fudge..." br Karen didn't answer. Nobody did. All around Maria were the decaying bodies of her former neighbors. Everybody had been killed by the zombies, and the zombies started to "die" a few weeks afterward. None had been spared, except, of course, for their leader, Maria. And now she sat, digging into her birthday cake, with lifeless bodies around her. br "So, dad...how was your day?" br Flies swarmed around his body. Maria turned away. She started to hum to herself, but quickly stopped. Then she cried...  
p 


End file.
